Dealernet Express Dealers Get Cut

FYI to all you folks out there. Nikon really hosed many dealers this last week. They basically shut down the dealernet express accounts. They sent letters out April 26th and told all the dealers they were done on the 30th of April. No advanced notice, no help with what to do next other than send a letter in and start the process over if you would like to be the next level dealer. We got an initail call into Senior VP David Lee which he stated "we can no longer support the program". He promosed to contact us back with info on gong up to the next level of Nikon dealers, but we never have received a call. Our efforts to get a return call on this have been igonored and avoided. Nikon has been all but unhelpful. In fact the Senior Vice Presidents secretary first answer to us saying we had some questions was "I think the letter is self explanitory". Our frustration with Nikon is they have made no effort to work with us after supporting their product. Nor answered any questions of how we continue to support existing customers. Literally 2 days notice that we were no longer dealers. Our feeling is they are short of stock and eliminating dealers helps push stock to the bigger dealers. I think it is very sad that Nikon has choosen to conduct and treat so many dealers without integrity. Problems or not their dealers deserve better...

I saw this kind of uncaring high-handed attitude a lot when I was dealing with American companies in corporate life. You sure it is 'Nikon' and not 'Nikon USA'? It doesn't change much for you, but it is only fair to lay blame at the right door. Sounds like something that has been on an agenda for a long time and the problems just gave opportunity.

I work for a university that used to be a customer of Sun Micro for server computers.

Oracle corporation took them over not tooooo long ago... and guess what? With less than one weeks notice they "fired" almost the entire Value Added Reseller network to take the largest 100 or so customers back "in house". We are not one of the top 100 and were mightily ticked off when we discovered that our regular business processes would not now work. They did all this without thinking what kind of damage they were doing to the company image in the computing and IT trade. It has taken them about 6 months now to realize that an entire generation of what were Sun server users are now off with the likes of Dell and Linux and NOT buying from Oracle anymore.

if as a manufacturer of a product, you have a delay in production, resulting in a shortage of the items you produce, it seems reasonable that you would cut out the smaller or slow sales dealers.

Auto manufacturers do it, so, why can't camera makers do the same.

Also, from a sales point of view, the bigger retailers would be able to keep the cost down, thereby increasing sales, and allowing the company to recover quicker, and not loose market share to the competion.

I think the end users [us] will benefit from this move.

Quoting : demand and supply is driving the prices is a lot of bull.

All DX cameras are made in Thailand, not Japan, and most of the DX and some FX lenses are also made there.

I have noticed that all Nikon products, even those made in Thailand have had a price increase, and this may be Nikons way of getting control of the price gouging that is taking place.

Just because those cameras and lenses are assembled in Thailand and China it doesn't mean they don't use parts that are made in Japan. So being Made in Thailand doesn't mean the price shouldn't be affected.